When we hear phrases like "universal access" or "affordable for all," it can be easy to switch into political partisan mode and stir up a heated debate, with reasonable perspectives supporting both sides. But when it comes to universal broadband, politics only have one role to play: getting it done.
After the pandemic, the truth of our digital future was clear. Leaving anyone behind as the rest of the country skyrockets forward would be like leaving someone behind in the dark without access to the world of evolving economic growth and opportunity.
But when everyone has access to the internet with competitive speeds to accommodate emerging technologies, everyone can contribute to that growth and opportunity. More workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and income creators will be able to join in driving our digital economy. Broadband is an enabler of progress, and it has become as "universal" a need as water, shelter, clothing, and electricity: No matter how political it sounds, everyone should be aligned around universal broadband.
We All Learned at Once: Broadband Is Essential
The pandemic affected us in different ways, but in one crucial way, it impacted us all — the need for digital tools to survive in modern society. En masse, offices closed and sent workers home, some to work remotely and some closed for good. Our ability to travel and interact in person became severely limited, and we had to solve this problem with the tools at hand.
Digital products are all about increasing ease and accessibility to goods, services, and entertainment from the palm of our hands. Companies needed new tools to conduct business without an office. Consumers wanted to keep shopping from home, but their priorities shifted. New products and services sprung from these new needs, and digital transformation took off at a sprint as everyone rushed to digitize their lives.
But it took more than just having a device and internet to keep up: These new tools required the high speeds of broadband. That meant access to remote medical services through telehealth for those with limited travel, remote job and freelance opportunities for those without work, and digital education for students, while those without fell behind. When the pandemic hit, we all welcomed the life raft of digital technology to keep our lives going, but we also witnessed firsthand what happens to those left to drown with no broadband or old technology with outdated speeds.
A Social Issue With Bipartisan Support
Broadband is not intended to be a political issue, but it is a universal social issue that politicians have managed to agree on. Both parties, much like their constituents, are aligned around the need for universal broadband.
In 2015, Barack Obama described high-speed broadband as a necessity rather than a luxury. Two years later, Mark Zuckerberg petitioned the UN to enshrine the internet as a basic human right, but before COVID, the topic was still up for debate. After two years of living through the pandemic, President Joe Biden echoed these sentiments, and everyone finally agreed.
Some 19 Republican senators voted in favor of the $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure bill that included $65 billion for broadband buildouts and affordability. Among them was Susan Collins, who went on to introduce the American Broadband Act to provide federal funds to match state-level programs, and other strong proponents of high-speed broadband, including often outspoken partisan voices like Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham. They support this "universal" issue because these leaders understand that broadband access is not about party politics.
Internet today has become more than just entertainment and video games. The upload and download speeds needed to participate in increasingly immersive environments are more than just some fun trip through virtual reality. Faster speeds allow for better education, healthcare, and opportunities as well as better connections with the world and a better quality of life. High-speed broadband creates and grows businesses, so communities thrive and the global economy benefits. No matter the region or its politics, everything is better with broadband.
All Important Issues Must Be Political for Action To Happen
From the Tennessee Valley Authority Act investing in rural electrification to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act establishing methods to prosecute human traffickers, every significant issue must be political to some degree for us, as a nation, to take action on it. No matter how much we agree on an issue, it takes political influence to prioritize the problems we aim to solve and lawmakers to respond with funding programs that support increased opportunities for success.
The best action we can take right now to ensure universal broadband — and the future it will enable — becomes a reality is to show how much we support it. Remove the stigma of anything universal as being "too political" to discuss: Have those conversations about how important universal broadband is for our communities and economic strength as a nation. Invest in broadband opportunities and promote not only the enacting of programs but the education of skills needed to access and use them. Our united support will be the surest path to the successful rollout of universal broadband and the greatest overall return on our investment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
